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'Bill Whelan born May 22 1950 is the Irish composer who was asked to compose a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The end result, Riverdance, was a seven-minute display of traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish dancing and celtic music. Riverdance Promotional Poster Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish step dancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. ...
Whelan is a native of Limerick, and was educated at Crescent College, University College Dublin and the King's Inns. He worked as a pianist for The Waterboys during their Fisherman's Blues sessions. His work appears on a second album from those sessions, Too Close to Heaven. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ... University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin - more commonly University College Dublin (UCD) - is Irelands largest university, with over 20,000 students. ... The album Fishermans Blues marked a change in the sound of The Waterboys, abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, country music and rock and roll. ...
Whelan's lifetime of musical endeavours include:
1950 Bill Whelan born in Limerick.
1970 Composes score for the film Bloomfield.
1978 Member of the jazz-rock band Stacc, who release a single on CBS.
1981 Timedance, composed by Whelan and Donal Lunny, and performed by Planxty, features in the interval of Eurovision. Timedance released as a Planxty record.
1983 Whelan produces 'The Refugee' on the U2 album War|War.
1989 Joins Board of Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) , on which he serves continuously until 1997.
1992 Commissioned to compose The Seville Suite. Produces and plays keyboards on the Andy Irvine/Davy Spillane album East West.
1993 Composes the orchestral work The Spirit Of Mayo.
1994 Composes Riverdance for interval segment of the Eurovision Song Contest. The segment is an unprecedented success and is developed into the long running stage show.
1995 Riverdance the stage show opens in Dublin, and later the same year in London.
1995 Invited to serve on Government Task Force set up by Minister Michael D Higgins.
BillWhelan, composer of Riverdance The Show, has worked extensively in theatre, television and film.
Bill recently composed the musical score for the critically acclaimed Irish history television documentary, The Seven Ages, produced and directed by Sean O Mordha.
BillWhelan is the winner of the 1997 Grammy Award for 'Best Musical Show Album' for the Riverdance CD.
Composed by BillWhelan, produced by Moya Doherty, and directed by John McColgan, Riverdance The Show highlights the excitement of Irish dance and music and has been captivating audiences all over the globe.
Whelan's score for Dancing At Lughnasa combines the texture and strains of traditional Irish music with a sensibility singularly informed by both classical and popular musical styles.
BillWhelan's involvement manifested itself in his arranging and producing the album as well as performing alongside some of Ireland's finest musicians, Mairtin O'Connor, Anthony Drennan, Noel Eccles, Kenneth Edge, Michael O'Súilleabháin as well as Bulgarian musician Nikola Parov who later appeared in Riverdance The Show.
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